Gardening is not only a hobby for some individuals; it is a way of life that has existed for thousands of years. The growth of fruit and vegetable plants for personal use can be rewarding both recreationally and financially. Each type of plant has its own particular growth requirements, from soil and water conditions to amount of sun and type of fertilizer. One requirement for many plants is the use of a support structure to keep the plant from spreading over the ground and limiting the space for other plants. Supports also keep fruits and vegetables from growing directly on the ground, which would decrease their quality. Tomatoes are known to benefit from such supports, as do vine fruit plants that produce cucumbers, gourds and melons and vine vegetable plants that produce beans and peas.
The common practice for tomatoes is to surround the plant when it is still small with a structure called a “tomato cage.” This cage is usually a conical wire frame that is secured in the ground and is available for the tomato plant to wrap around it while the plant grows. In so doing, the tomato plant essentially grasps the cage and uses it as a framework, keeping the plant off the ground.
Tomato cages do have their own difficulties, though. These tomato cages tend to be usable for a couple of seasons, but the weight of the plants does tend to warp them and the elements do tend to corrode the cage. They also tend to break with little applied force, particularly when separating the plant from the cage at the end of the season. The wire construction tends to be suitable for tomatoes and other small fruited plants, such as peas and beans, but larger fruit plants, such as melons and gourds tend to be too heavy for the wire construction of tomato cages. As such, different types of supports are necessary for different plants—and even different sizes of tomato cages must be produced for larger or smaller tomato plants. The tomato cages also suffer from being top heavy, as they are poorly supported in the ground (especially is the ground is shallow) until the plant grows large enough to help anchor the cage. What is needed then, is a more stable support structure that is durable and easily removed from the plant at the end of the season.
The present invention represents a departure from the prior art in that the vegetable support of the present invention allows for sturdy, modular construction that allows the support to be build upon as the supported plant grows while providing a solid and sturdy base that not only anchors the support without the plant, but also surrounds the plant with a wall to reduce weeds and facilitate individual mulching and watering of plants. Auxiliary structures also allow for capping the support in a manner to create a miniature hot house or shield from frost. The support may also be converted into a more traditional cage structure should a user so desire.